HOW CHOICES SHAPE LIFE
(Different Results Require Different Choices)
Main Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:19 “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”
We cannot always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond.
1. OUR CHOICES CAN AFFECT OUR DESTINY
Deuteronomy 30:19 presents two alternatives: life or death, blessing or cursing.
What we repeatedly choose today can shape the kind of life we experience tomorrow.
A small decision can have a large consequence.
2. OUR CHOICES CAN AFFECT OUR FAMILIES
Joshua made a powerful declaration: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” — Joshua 24:15
Joshua understood that his personal decision could influence his household.
Our choices can create either a godly legacy or a destructive pattern.
We cannot control every choice our parents made, and we should not blame them for everything we experience. But we can decide that negative patterns will not continue through us.
Through Christ, we can make new choices and establish a new direction for our families.
3. WE MUST CHOOSE GOOD OVER EVIL
Isaiah 7:15 speaks of learning: “To refuse the evil and choose the good.”
Choosing correctly requires discernment.
Sometimes the greatest spiritual victory is not in fighting something but in refusing to participate in it.
4. OUR RESPONSE TO EVENTS IS ALSO A CHOICE
We cannot always control what people say or do to us, but we can control our response.
Someone may insult us, reject us, criticize us, or misunderstand us. The event may be painful, but we still have a choice.
What happens to us is important, but how we respond can determine what happens next.
Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. Yet he did not allow his painful experiences to determine his character or destroy his destiny.
Eventually, Joseph could say: “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.” — Genesis 50:20
5. WE MUST CHOOSE HOW WE SEE OURSELVES
How we see ourselves affects how we live. If we constantly see ourselves as failures, worthless, rejected, or inferior, we may make choices consistent with that negative image.
But we must see ourselves through God's Word.
Who are we in Christ? We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. Our citizenship is in heaven.
Our identity should not be determined by people's opinions, past failures, financial status, education, appearance, or circumstances.
6. WE MUST CHOOSE TO VALUE OURSELVES
Healthy self-esteem is not pride. It is recognizing that our lives have value because God created us and Christ redeemed us.
We should not spend our lives trying to become somebody else.
God created us with purpose. We can say: “We were created in God's image, we belong to Him, and our lives have purpose and value.”
7. WE MUST CHOOSE PROSPERITY GOD'S WAY
God desires our well-being. 3 John 2 says: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
Biblical prosperity is not merely possessing money. It involves the well-being of the whole person—spiritually, emotionally, relationally, physically, and materially.
We cannot continually choose laziness, destructive relationships, dishonesty, uncontrolled spending, unforgiveness, or sinful habits and then expect different results.
If we want different results, we must be willing to make different choices.
8. DO NOT GRUMBLE ABOUT WHAT YOU CHOSE
Sometimes people suffer the consequences of their own decisions and then complain about the results.
We must learn from our choices instead of continually complaining about them.
A wrong choice does not have to become a permanent destiny.
Through repentance, wisdom, and God's grace, we can make a new choice.
9. TODAY WE CAN CHOOSE AGAIN
Perhaps some of us have made choices that brought pain into our lives.
Today, we can choose again. We can choose Jesus Christ. We can choose obedience.
Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” — John 10:10
Our past may explain where we are, but it does not have to determine where we are going.
By God's grace, we can make better choices and walk into a better future.
Dr Lawi Mshana, +255712924234, Tanzania
